As though we'd lost all count of time,
And so must climb for evermore.
Yet, all too soon, we reached the door
The black, sun-blistered lighthouse-door,
That gaped for us ajar.
From -  Flannan Isle
Wilfrid Wilson Gibson
It s not what you do that counts.
It s what they think you do.
- David Lustig
Bob Cassidy
Side Effects  an e-book
©2003 by Robert E Cassidy All rights reserved.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas 1907
Fifteen year old Alvin Thompson and Carlo, his water spaniel, spent the morning
hunting before they headed to the old fishing hole. That s where they met the stranger.
He was a city slicker, judging by his store-bought clothes and fishing rod, but he
was friendly enough and didn t seem to mind that Carlo, who was now splashing about
in the pond, had effectively ended his hopes of catching a quick lunch. The man laughed
at the dog s antics and Carlo, happy to meet a new friend, dashed out of the water and
dropped a wet stick at the man s feet.
 Throw it out into the pond, Alvin said, smiling proudly.  He wants to show you
what a good swimmer he is.
The man tossed the stick out into the pond and, at the same time, Carlo bolted
into the water, snatching the stick in his jaws the moment it bobbed up to the surface
and swiftly swimming it back ashore, where he dropped it again at the man s feet.
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Side Effects
The game continued until Carlo finally decided to chase after a crow who had
begun heckling him from a nearby tree. Turning to the boy, the man said,  That sure is a
fine dog you have there, son. You wouldn t be interested in selling him, would you?
 Oh, no sir, I couldn t do that, Alvin replied.  I could never sell Carlo. It wouldn t
be right. I raised him since he was a pup and taught him everything he knows. He s the
best hunting dog in the whole county, probably in all of Arkansas. There ain t nothing he
can t find and fetch.
They sat silently for a moment and the boy s eyes lingered for a moment on the
store-bought fishing pole that lay at the man s side.
 But I tell you what I will do, mister. Would you like to make a bet?
 I ve been known to place a wager on occasion,  replied the man.  What sort of a
bet did you have in mind?
The boy picked up a rock and removed a knife from the pocket of his overalls. He
scratched an  X across the rock and said,  I ll bet you that if you throw this here rock out
into the middle of the pond, where its about thirty feet deep, that Carlo can dive down
and fetch it back.
 And what if he can t? asked the man.
 I guess you win Carlo, then. But if he does do it, I win your fishing pole.
The city man, barely hiding his eagerness, took the bet. When Carlo returned,
having chased off the obnoxious corvine heckler, the boy showed him the rock. Carlo
sniffed at it and Alvin handed it to the man who tossed it to the deepest part of the pond.
Carlo swam out to where the rock hand landed and dove underwater. After about
fifteen seconds, he came back to the surface and swam ashore. In his mouth was a wet
rock that he dropped at the man s feet. The man picked it up and saw it had the  X on it.
 Well, I guess I ll just take that fishing pole, then, said the boy.
The man laughed.  C mon, boy, I was only kidding with you. I wouldn t bet an
expensive pole like that against no mongrel dog.
The boy, who wasn t smiling anymore, said,  He s a spaniel, mister. A water
spaniel.
 I have another bet for you, he continued as he picked up his .22 rifle and
pulled the bolt,  You hold onto that rock and I bet I can shoot it out of your hand.
The man gave Alvin the fishing pole.
3
Bob Cassidy
Years later when he related the incident, Alvin laughingly added,  Now Carlo was
a really smart dog but I never believed in taking chances. About a week before I covered
the bottom of that pond with about three hundred rocks that had  X s on them. I didn t
want the damn dog coming up with the wrong rock.
By that time, though, nobody called him Alvin anymore. He had become the
greatest proposition hustler of his era and was known as Titanic Thompson, a name still
spoken with reverence when old-time gamblers meet.
Paris, France 1925
The two men sat across from each other in the Parisian café. The Count, who had
been reading the newspaper, circled an article with his pencil and tossed it to the table in
front of the other man.
 Look at this, Danny. Do you see the possibilities?
Dan Collins was an American whom the Count employed as his personal aide. He
picked up the paper and read the story the Count had marked. It was about the failing
condition of the Eiffel Tower and its high maintenance costs. Built in 1889 for the Parisian
Exposition, the article pointed out that the tower was never intended to be a permanent
monument. In fact, it was supposed to have been taken down in 1909.
Danny looked up at the Count.  I don t get it, Vic. Where s the angle?
 It seems there is some sentiment that the tower is not worth saving. This, Danny,
presents us with an excellent opportunity.
Collins smiled knowingly.  I get it. You want to raise money to save the tower,
right?
 No, Danny. I propose to sell it.
Had anyone else made the suggestion, Dan Collins would have laughed aloud.
But Victor  The Count Lustig was the man who had, two years previously, conned Al
Capone out of five thousand dollars. Given the obviously fatal consequences of failure, it
was a scam that only an idiot or genius would even consider. And Lustig wasn t an idiot.
Capone never even realized that he d been conned.
If Victor Lustig said he was going to sell the Eiffel Tower, Danny had no doubt
that he could pull it off.
4
Side Effects
Victor laid out the key parts of his plan and in the weeks that followed, they
worked out the details. What followed was one of the greatest masterpieces of deception
ever seen.
____________________________________
Using forged government stationery proclaiming him to be  Deputy Director
General of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs , Lustig sent letters to six major scrap
metal dealers, inviting them to a private meeting at the prestigious Hotel Crillon, to
discuss a matter of pressing importance to the government of France.
He played his role perfectly as he explained to the businessmen that the costs of
maintaining the Eiffel Tower could no longer be justified.
 But as you are certainly aware, gentlemen, there would undoubtedly be a great
public outcry should our decision to sell the tower for scrap be revealed prematurely.
The plan, therefore, is to remain a strict secret until all arrangements have been made.
 You have been selected to attend this meeting because of your reputations as
honest businessmen. And to me has fallen the responsibility of determining who among
you will be selected to carry out the task. Before I discuss with you the manner in which
bids are to be submitted, however, I invite all of you to accompany me on an inspection
tour of the tower.
The businessmen were taken, in a rented limousine, to the tower where Lustig
showed off the nearly 15,000 prefabricated parts from which it had been constructed.
With the eye of a master con artist, he carefully watched the men and observed their
reactions. When they got back to the hotel, he reminded them that the matter was to be
kept secret and advised them that bids had to be submitted by the following day.
But Lustig had no intention of accepting the highest bid. Instead, he would select
the best  mark. And he had already decided who that would be.
Andre Poisson was obviously the most eager of the prospects and also exhibited a
certain insecurity about his status in the business community. Lustig sensed that Poisson
saw the proposition as a rare opportunity to establish himself as a major player in the
scrap metal business.
Back at the café, Lustig explained the situation to Collins.  This is our man, Danny.
Tomorrow I will accept his bid and tell him that the contract is to be completed within
the week. Make certain our bird does not stray from the nest.
Collins understood. He was to make sure the mark wasn t spooked. If Poisson
started asking the right people the wrong questions, the results could be disastrous.
5
Bob Cassidy
The next day, Poisson received the happy news. In less than a week, he was to
complete the deal and receive the documents that would convey the legal title to the
Eiffel Tower. He returned to his hotel, anxious to tell his wife of their good fortune. He
had no idea that a man known to the American authorities as  Dapper Dan - and to his
fellow cons as  The Invisible Man - was right behind him.
That night, in the room adjoining the Poisson s suite, with his ear pressed to a
glass he held against the wall, Danny realized that things were starting to come apart. Far
from being happy at the news her husband brought, Madam Poisson was suddenly
suspicious.
 Why all of the secrecy? she asked,  And why must the deal be completed so
soon and in cash? And what does the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs have to do with
the Eiffel Tower? You must make certain, Andre, before you enter into such a deal, that
this man is who he claims to be.
Before she d finished tarnishing her husband s enthusiasm, finally extracting a
promise from him to visit the Ministry to confirm Lustig s identity, Danny was already
outside hailing a cab. Within twenty minutes, he delivered the news to Victor.
 I guess that s it, then, said Danny.  Do we pull up stakes?
Victor thought for a moment and then smiled.  Of course not, Danny. I ll simply
have to prove to him that I am the man he wants me to be.
___________________________________________
Poisson received a message the next morning summoning him to another meeting
with the  Deputy Minister. When he arrived, Lustig invited him for a walk on Place de la
Concorde. As they strolled, Lustig said,  I must discuss a matter with you that requires
some discretion. I very much want to complete the deal with you next week, but I think
you should know that yours was not the highest bid. I am, you understand, a mere civil
servant. Successful businessmen such as you often don t realize how difficult it is for a
government employee to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for his wife and children. You
do understand, don t you?
Poisson smiled and seemed as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his
shoulders. He understood perfectly. He was being asked for a bribe! The minister was the
type of government official Poisson was used to dealing with. He needed no further
confirmation of the man s identity.
Several days later the deal was complete and Victor Lustig and Dan Collins left
France on the next train to Vienna
6
Side Effects
Not only had Victor Lustig sold the Eiffel Tower, he d received a bribe as a bonus.
Lustig never revealed exactly how much cash was in the satchel they carried, but it
was obviously substantial. He d read his mark perfectly and wasn t the least bit surprised
that Poisson, totally embarrassed by the affair, never reported it to the police.
_________________________________________________________
.
What, you may ask, do these stories have to do with mentalism? And what is the
significance of the lighthouse on Flannan Isle? The former question is answered in the
pages that follow. The answer to the latter you must discover for yourself.
I ve taken several dramatic liberties with the stories you ve just read. I really have
no idea what Victor Lustig and Danny Collins actually said to each other back in 1925,
nor can anyone be sure why Titanic Thompson went to so much trouble just to win a
fishing pole. (Although I strongly suspect that the stranger from the city wasn t the last
sucker to bet against Carlo s prowess as a search and recovery diver.)
But it s a matter of record that Lustig sold the Eiffel Tower  in fact, he did it twice,
but the second time his mark went to the authorities, prompting Victor to flee to America.
He continued his career selling  money making machines to people who should have
known better but didn t because Lustig had a talent for making everything seem so
reasonable. It was only when he took up counterfeiting that the law finally caught up
with him. Lustig died in Alcatraz prison in 1947. He may have sold the Eiffel Tower, but
in the end, he bought a piece of the rock.
7
Bob Cassidy
I quoted an observation by David Lustig (no relation to Victor) on page two.
Those few mentalists and psychic entertainers who achieved public fame in the last
century proved Lustig correct. In mentalism and effective magic, the truth about what the
great performers actually did when they were in front of an audience has always been
secondary to what the public thought they did. The Thompson story offers a variation of
the same idea. Whether or not the story of the diving dog is literally true, or if
Thompson just made it up  as is quite possible, is secondary to the real truth it contains.
The stranger placed his bet against the dog s abilities because that is what he thought the
proposition was all about. He never realized that it was actually the boy s abilities he was
up against.
Similarly, while it is historically true that Victor Lustig sold the Eiffel tower, the
practical truth the story contains is illustrated by Poisson s  discovery that Lustig had to
be a government official because he solicited a bribe in return for granting the contract 
something that only a corrupt government official would have a motive to do in the
circumstances.
Lustig s true brilliance as a con man [and, I believe, the reason that the time has come to
establish  The Victor Lustig Educational Foundation ] was his ability to let people discover for
themselves the very things he wanted them to discover.
All of the foregoing can be summarized as -
THE LAW OF SIDE EFFECTS
Things we think we have discovered or confirmed for ourselves are more
likely to lead us to belief and conviction than things we are told or shown by
others. What s REALLY going on has nothing to do with it.
_____________________________________________________
 If you build it, they will come
- Field of Dreams
 When the facts differ from the legend, print the legend.
If there s no legend, invent one.
- R. Delacroix
8
Side Effects
One of the inherent difficulties in presenting effective mentalism is that it generally
lacks the element of surprise. The performer states that he will read a thought and
proceeds to do so. He says he will predict tomorrow s headlines and he does. Many
would-be mentalists infallibly demonstrate so many different alleged mental powers that
the element of believability is lacking as well.
By applying the  Side Effects principle, the element of surprise is returned to the
art and variety is introduced into a performance without sacrificing believability. My good
friend Ross Johnson, one of the finest mentalists in the world today, created the following
effect, which illustrates the principle perfectly. He didn t give me a name for it, but since
it illustrates the type of side effect I like refer to as a  Mind Freeze, I ll call it
Ross Johnson s  Mind Freezer
[NOTE: Effects employing the  Side Effects principle are difficult to describe in the
traditional Effect/Method manner. This is because there are actually two or more effects
happening at the same time  the main effect and the side effect (s). In some instances
the side effect has nothing whatsoever to do with the main effect and appears to occur
independently of what the performer is doing.]
EFFECT: (As seen without the side effect)
A spectator is asked to think of someone who has passed away and to print that
person s name on a piece of paper.
The paper is folded and destroyed, preferably in a somewhat ritualistic manner.
The performer then describes the decedent, reveals the name, and delivers a message
from beyond to any living persons who may be present at the demonstration.
That is the basic premise of the effect and, as such, is a rather standard
demonstration.
THE SIDE EFFECT:
We will assume that the name bearing the name of the dead person is being
burned. The performer gazes into the flames and tells the subject to concentrate on
reaching the other side. He begins to describe a person and give the initials of the name.
He looks at the volunteer and says, for example,  Julie?
The spectator responds in the negative, the name makes no sense to her. The
performer says,  I m not talking to you. I m getting a message for Julie. Pointing to a
spectator toward the side or rear of the room, he says.  You are Julie? Yes? There is
someone here with the initials B. L. Does this make sense to you? The name is Betty?
9
Bob Cassidy
The performer is correct of course, and depending on the nature of his
presentation successfully reveals relevant information about Betty  including, perhaps,
a message from her to Julie.
He can end the demonstration here, or, if he chooses, he can now go back to the
first spectator and reveal information and a possible communication from the first
spectator s dear departed.
METHODS:
Don t jump to the conclusion that I am advocating a John Edward type approach
to the presentation. It could be just as easily presented by asking the first spectator to
concentrate on the name of a FAMOUS dead person, and then picking up the name of a
FAMOUS person being thought of by someone else. The element of surprise is
introduced when the performer unexpectedly picks up something that has nothing to do
with the first spectator s selection.
This is the type of presentational ploy that gives the impression that the performer
is not totally in control of what happens during the performance. And, for the reasons
discussed earlier, this can be an extremely convincing.
The actual method is secondary to the effect. Ross suggests that my Mind Razor
concept would work well here as a way of building up a ritualistic type of presentation,
but the primary effect can be accomplished just as easily with a billet switch, peek, Jaks
wallet or center tear.
The side effect with the second spectator is the result of the simplest sort of pre-
show work. The mentalist has either secretly obtained information relevant to the second
spectator, or has approached her prior to the performance, asking that she concentrate
on the name of someone who has passed to the other side for the purpose of an
experiment that will be conducted during the program. She is, of course, asked to jot the
name down on slip of paper  as an aid to concentration , thus affording the mentalist the
opportunity to employ one of the aforementioned methods to discern her thought.
Since the distribution of this e-book has been limited to those who have
represented themselves to be proficient in the basics of mentalism, the actual methods
require no further discussion. The point of the effect is to illustrate a straightforward
application of the  Side Effect principle.
___________________________________
The basic idea of picking up random thoughts is not new, of course. What I am
suggesting, however, is that the approach should be used frequently. It should be clear,
of course, that the performer generally is successful in performing the feats he sets out to
perform, but his success should not be a foregone conclusion to the audience.
10
Side Effects
The use of the  Side Effects principle adds a sense of free association and
spontaneity to a mentalism program. While a presentation should be a well-rehearsed
sequence of pre-planned effects, it shouldn t seem to be. An audience should be left
with the conclusion that they ve witnesses a demonstration of mental powers, NOT that
they ve just witnesses a mental ACT. We should remember that words like  routine ,  act ,
 effect ,  props and, God forbid,  trick , are words we use to describe and discuss
mentalism among ourselves  they are not words that belong in the vocabulary of our
performing persona.
Other ways that the principle is applied during a stage presentation:
In presenting a book test, occasionally force words that can result in interesting
misunderstandings. When a participant selects the word "nothing" or concentrates on a
blank page, the results are usually very entertaining. Most experienced performers take
effective advantage of the situation when a selection like this is made. Few, however,
intentionally include sequences like this in their shows. {NOTE: The old  No gag 
where the performer writes down a word and asks a spectator if he knows what it is,
showing that the spectator is correct when he says  no is NOT and example of the side
effect. It is, instead, an obviously intentional comic play on word. Side effects cannot
appear to be preplanned or their entire purpose is defeated.
Keep getting an impression of something odd during the program - a strange word
that seems to make no sense.  Is anyone thinking of ___? Later, force the word in a
book test - or better yet, keep getting the impression of the name of a place or city - no
one relates to it (but, if it is an "off the wall" place and someone does find it relevant 
and this happens very often - it will be a memorable hit.)
Pepper your act with random cold-reading probes - not addressed to anyone in
particular, but giving the impression that you are constantly being bombarded with
thoughts. One of the unintentional inconsistencies in many mentalists personas is that
they act and seem so normal when they are not doing their tests. Wouldn't real abilities
along these lines naturally produce unforeseen side effects and sometimes be as general
pain in the ass? (More about this when I discuss the second type of side effect.)
Be puzzled about many of the things you receive, but don't act as if they really
surprise you. You are accustomed to seemingly meaningless thoughts popping into your
head.
11
Bob Cassidy
Search for the synchronous - this is reminiscent of Harbin s thought-card test and
may be dismissed by many - too bad. Relate mundane events that happened to you
during the day as if they happened to some unknown person in the audience.
More often than not, you will uncover interesting and often amazing
coincidences. The synchronous hit can be very dramatic but you have to look for it. (It s
not uncommon for audience members to get into this as well  many of them find
strange coincidences all over the place  which is why conspiracy theories have always
been popular. Again, it goes to the basic rule- IT DOESN T MATTER IF SOMETHING IS
LITERALLY TRUE OR NOT- if they discovered it for themselves  or were  permitted to-
they are very likely going to believe it.*)
I believe that the preceding paragraph contains one of the most powerful secrets I
have ever used as a performer.
__________________________________
*This is analogous to a quaint old English proverb, which, for reasons of good
taste, I have edited out of the foregoing text 
 Each manne liketh the smelle of his owne farte
_____________________________________
The Second Type of Side Effect  (The odd things that just seem to
happen whenever you are around)
There are, as I ve said, two types of side effects. The first is the unexpected new
direction taken by the demonstration. I refer to them as Mind Freezers (a euphemistic
reference to effects properly known as MF s). The second are unexpected happenings as
well, but they seemingly have no connection whatsoever to the effect being presented.
They are weird and strange things that just seem to happen whenever the performer is
around. They are memorable little things that people remember about a performer long
after his program is over.
12
Side Effects
The most common examples are unexpected physical phenomena. (An
unexplained noise, television static, radio interference, a breaking glass, etc.) Tactile
effects are also very strong. Annemann was known to keep an ice packet in his jacket
pocket. He would secretly hold it for a while before shaking hands with someone. It is a
powerful idea that is much more practical today that it was in Annemann s time due to
the ready availability of chemical ice packs that can be activated just prior to use  you
can find them in any pharmacy alongside the Ace Bandages and ointments such as
BenGay or Icy Hot.
[BenGay, believe it or not, can be very effective when you are doing a
séance routine  especially for older people. A sudden whiff of the odiferous
substance often brings back memories of the dear departed who used it for just
about every ailment you could imagine. A bit of thought will bring other olfactory
examples to mind  the smell of a rosemary cachet can, for example, often
conjure up memories of one s childhood.]
Side Effects of the Second Kind (SEOTSK) are best used in impromptu situations 
they are the sort of thing that happen you all of the time because you are, well,
 different.
They are very easy to accomplish if you have the mindset of a practical joker.
Many years ago, for example, I thought that I would surprise my wife by seeing what
would happen if I poured some stage blood in the toilet and left it there. Her reaction
was more satisfying than I could have imagined. (That was my first wife, by the way.)
This is not, of course, an example of a side effect  it is just a stupid practical joke. BUT
used in the following manner it can be a perfect (if a bit over-the-to) application of the
idea:
Suppose you are doing a séance routine for a private party right around
Halloween. Before your performance take a visit to the john and pour some stage blood
into the toilet TANK. The water in the bowl will remain clear until some poor soul
flushes. While this example of the side effect is somewhat outrageous, I think it gives you
an idea about how practical jokes can be adapted to our purposes.
To insure that things of this nature are happening whenever I am around (except
when I am at home with my family or close friends, who will no longer tolerate such
antics) I have prepared a small kit that I always keep nearby.
The kit includes, among other things:
Chemical ice packs,
Stage blood,
Plate lifters,
An eye-dropper (used to put a single drop of water in the depressed area found
on the top of a used candle  the candle will burn for about thirty seconds or so before it
sputters out  a very spooky prelude to a close-up sequence),
Light fishing line,
An invisible thread reel,
A standard heavy-duty reel,
13
Bob Cassidy
Screw type eyelets (painted various colors to match most walls and ceilings),
Two inexpensive miniature tape recorders (the type that use mini cassettes)
A refrigerator magnet that looks like a telephone (and sounds just like a cell
phone when you press its button),
A pocket-sized sound effects device that I bought at the toy store,
Magician s wax,
Assorted magnets,
A small envelope of catnip, and
A stooge (the stooge, of course, is not physically placed in the kit unless he is very
very tiny and does not suffer from claustrophobia.)
The manner in which most of these items can be employed to create side effects
should be readily apparent. Others may seem a bit obscure (As an exercise in developing
side effects I will leave it to you to guess how the catnip is used.)
The fishing line, thread, eyelets, wax and reels are primarily used to make things
fall down or move. A length of fishing line, for example, is secretly stuck to the lower
corner of a hanging picture. The line runs down to one of the small eyelets - which can
be screwed or waxed onto any wall in a second or two and are virtually invisible due to
their small size and the fact that you have painted your supply in various neutral colors.
The function of the eyelets is to allow the line to run along walls to the area where you
will be performing. I usually have the end of the line wrapped around a pencil, which is
lying in the performing area. The line is rolled taut enough so that the mere action of
picking up the pencil and putting it in your pocket will cause the picture on the far wall
to tilt.
The former is ideal for a séance situation, but the same idea is also easily adapted
to making objects fall over  and break, if you like. (That of course, is dependent on the
venue and who owns the object that will shatter! Cheap glassware can be purchased at
any dollar store and is ideal for this type of side effect.)
The reels serve similar purposes, but to my mind the pencil and fishing line set-up
is the most efficient and sure-fire.
The sound effects device is kept in your side jacket pocket or in the pocket of a
stooge. You can imagine the interesting uses to which it is put.
As I have pointed out in my other writings, the SECRET stooge  the one who is
just there, and no attention is ever drawn to him other than to possibly ask him to hold
something or hand you something - has always been an extremely powerful weapon.
Amateurs tend to avoid stooges and many have actually suggested that use of a stooge is
cheating (as if the other stuff we do is fair), but I have never met a pro who wouldn t use
one if the occasion and the effect were right.)
The stooge holds the extra tape recorder, loaded with a mini tape. Here is an
example of how it is put to use. (While this is not strictly a side effect, I will explain its
relevance to our theme in a moment.)
14
Side Effects
I noted on the list that the cassette recorders should be inexpensive. This is
because you don t want them to produce high- quality sound. A bit of hissing and
background, noise is desirable as it aids in disguising the voice of the person who has
been recorded.
At the outset of his performance, the mentalist removes his own recorder from his
pocket and ejects the tape, which he leaves lying on the table alongside of the opened
recorder. He makes no mention of what the tape is for, simply noting that he recorded
something earlier that might be relevant to tonight s demonstration.
During the demonstration, several random bits of personal information are
obtained from the participants. You might elicit from one of them, for example, that she
was leaving for England in the morning. Let us suppose that she is wearing glasses, a red
outfit, and is named Mary.
At the end of the demonstration, the performer remarks on a strange dream he
had the night before. He asks someone to come forward and to put the mini cassette into
the recorder and to press the play button. A voice comes from the tape saying words to
this effect   I dreamt of a woman named Mary last night, who was covered in red and
an English Union Jack. I have no idea what this means but I think it may have something
to do with a person I will meet later today. We shall see.
The voice on the tape, of course, is not the performers. It belongs to the stooge.
He slipped out of the room when the information was obtained, made the recording on
his recorder, removed the tape and placed it in his pocket or simply kept it held in his
closed hand.
If his voice is simply the same pitch as yours - and he pronounces the words
slowly and clearly while holding the recorder just far away enough from his mouth to
prevent a clear recording and to allow background noise  no one will ever suspect that
the voice is not yours when the tape is played at the conclusion of the demonstration.
How do you switch the stooge s tape for the one on the table and get his tape into
the recorder? That s the simple part. State that you don t want to touch the tape and ask
someone else to put it into your recorder. The  someone else is the stooge, who switches
the tape for his in the act of loading the recorder. The switch is simple  he can even
stand with his back to the audience if he is afraid of being caught. He is NOT part of the
act, remember  no one cares that he may have poor stage presence!
The effect is astounding  it has no apparent explanation and has a feeling of
spontaneity about it. As you may have noted, though, it is not strictly a side effect. It is
however, an excellent reminder of the rule that has governed this e-book from the
beginning.
 Just as Titanic Thompson s dog Carlo was given all the credit for finding the
rock, you are given all of the credit for making the recording. What was really going on
was undiscovered and, thus, nonexistent as far as the audience was concerned. It s not
what you did that mattered at all. It was only what they thought you did.
15
Bob Cassidy
Knock and the door will be opened.
Ask, and you shall receive.
________________________________________________
We seemed to stand for an endless while,
Though still no word was said,
Three men alive on Flannan Isle,
Who thought, on three men dead.
- Flannan Isle
16